I recently uploaded the 5th episode of my BookTube series “Voices under the Sun”. The theme of this episode is “perception”. You can view the episode HERE.

The episode begins with “Bridge of Fate”, the ending credit song of Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s 2016 fantasy film The Great Wall. The music video is well worth watching, as it tells a story of how stories can impact on readers. Following that is a discussion of how Zhang’s other film, Hero (2002), changes our perception of China’s first emperor. Indeed, whether it is film or fiction, or even non-fiction — depending on how a story is told and what it focuses on, storytellers are able to shape our perception of certain characters and plots in their stories.

Concluding the episode is a discussion of four contemporary Australian books depicting the same historical figure in considerably different ways. I cannot explain why this case intrigues me so, apart from the fact that when I read these four books, I felt like reading the life stories of four different individuals — but they are actually the same person.

I hope you enjoy this episode. I understand it’s a bit long. Sorry. The English transcript of the episode is now published as a zine. Please follow the tab “Voices under the Sun BookTube Series” at the top of this page to check it out.